The Lincoln Park site sits near Cañon City, Colorado, where the Cotter Corporation ran a uranium mill from 1958 to 1979. The mill discharged radioactive and heavy metal waste into unlined ponds. A 1965 flood pushed that contamination into Sand Creek and toward the Lincoln Park neighborhood. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1984.
Contaminants in the Lincoln Park Residential Area include arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel, radium-226, selenium, uranium, and zinc. These substances spread from mill waste ponds into local groundwater and soil. Molybdenum exposure can cause increased uric acid with gout-like symptoms, especially in livestock. Uranium swallowed in quantities between 50 and 150 milligrams can damage the kidneys. Most residents get water from the Cañon City municipal supply, but some still use groundwater for lawn and garden irrigation, and a water use survey is underway to assess that exposure.
Major cleanup steps have included connecting Lincoln Park residents to city water, building a groundwater barrier at a downstream dam, excavating contaminated stream sediments, and moving tailings into lined storage. EPA declared soil cleanup in the Lincoln Park residential area complete in 2002, and that operable unit's Record of Decision selected no further action. Remedial action in the Cotter Mill Area took place from 1988 to 1991 under state oversight. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment leads ongoing cleanup in partnership with EPA. Cotter Corporation is the responsible party. In 2023, Colorado Legacy Land, LLC, which had purchased the mill property in 2018 and assumed cleanup obligations, declared insolvency, and Cotter resumed primary responsibility for the remedial investigation and feasibility study.
Additional investigation work for the Cotter Mill Area and other impacted sub-areas began in 2014 and is still in progress. EPA rates both human exposure control and groundwater migration control as insufficient data, meaning the response has started but has not yet produced reliable information to confirm whether exposures or groundwater migration are under control. The most recent five-year review was completed in September 2017. Construction is not yet complete across the full site.
Community members can get involved through the site's Community Advisory Group, which brings together local representatives to discuss cleanup decisions. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment maintains a Lincoln Park/Cotter web page with documents and meeting information. Public records are available at the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center in Cañon City, the CDPHE records center in Denver, and the EPA Superfund Records Center in Denver. Document copies can be requested by calling the EPA Records Center at (303) 312-7273.
